All Forum Posts by: Jim & Michele Wilcox

Hi Brian - I think your rehab looks great. You should sell it fast. It seems to have lots of the right touches that buyers want. Did you do all the work yourself??

Good luck and thanks for the photos.

Hi - Hurikane - I didn't say it was $150+ SF for rehab - but for new or addition construction which would include any foundations, and other things new construction entails.

Rehab costs for me if I was doing it for you would be my cost plus my % for overhead. It would be a fixed bid. Say you needed paint, carpet, drywall, and some plumbing fixures, I'd get my bids for that - then add on my % for overhead. Then I'd give you a fixed bid.

So if my cost was - $10,000 - my overhead would be say 20% - so the final FIXED bid would be $12,000.

Using truly experienced people and "so-called" experienced people are two different animals - and you'll find that out. LOL

But if you can do some things yourself that you KNOW you can do and hire out some things, you can save money and time.

Hope that cleared things a bit.

Hi - What I meant was to add new concrete in the garage up to the level of the house so that both floors are at the same level. By doing this the addition doesn't seem like an afterthought but part of the house.

But, like I said, if you ever think you might convert the room back to a garage, don't do it because you want the garage floor a step down in case of water.

Many times rehabbers that do the work themselves find that the task seems mountainous. And for one or two people, it is. The saying "a true rehab professional hires all his work out".

If you can, find a contractor who can do the work for you. Your keeping an eye on him is a lot less stressful than you doing all the work. It may cost a bit more - but you will probably get the job finished quicker and make a little more money than if you do all the work.

If a big project makes your stomach turn - maybe you aren't quite ready to do rehabbing and should do some assigning or wholesaling.

Good luck ...

I'm a general contractor and the first estimate seems low to me ... but closer than any of the others.

We run into RE agents all the time quoting per square foot building prices that are way out of line. They'll tell clients, you can add a nice guest house for $30 per square foot. I think they are living in the 60's. Guesthouses here run $150+ per square foot. When we tell them the cost, they think we are scamming them since "the realtor said".... They have no business quoting any construction costs.

As for your apt. super - I see him coming to you down the line for mo'money, mo'money ... and never finishing anything within a reasonable time.

None of these people are licensed contractors with any building experience. Its very funny how non-construction people look at something and always bid low. It shows they really have no clue.

Go find several licensed general contractors and get some bids. Those bids will be realistic and you may just want to pass on this project.

Good luck ...

This is done quite a bit in our area. If you convert the garage to another room - make sure you get it permitted. If you sell later and its SF that was not permitted, you may have problems selling and with the county tax assessor and the city.

Also, if you convert the garage, you can add a metal or wood carport in front of the garage for parking if that's important to you.

Another suggestion, float in concrete so you don't step down into the garage. It will create the feel that this wasn't an add on.... unless, you decided to re-convert back to a garage later ... forget it.

Good luck...

Hi - I've been looking into rehabbing mobiles as well. Apparently, there can be good money in buying low, selling higher and carrying the paper on mobiles. And if you can own the mobile park, that's even better. I also read that Missouri is an excellent area to do this. So good luck!

I'd make sure the flooring of the mobile home was stable - since there is no real solid foundation beneath it. Check for water rotted flooring. I've seen several flooded out and the floors are spongy. Other than that, the rehab should be the same. Electrical may present a problem since the interior walls are not always drywall but a thinner fiber board or panelling. It would depend on the age of the mobile as well.

But if you are just replacing cabs, carpet and tile, etc. it should go pretty smoothly.

Hi - I have a deal right now that is going for 2Mil - needs 600K worth of work and can probably sell near 3.9Mill or more. Of course I don't have the 2Mil to buy it. How would this deal work? TIA

I too would be interested in TRUE hard money loans. I've check many places and they are either 10% down @ 18% -- or 65% of LTV @ 10 - 13% with 4 - 6 points.

Most of the so-called hard money loans are not based on ARV - they want money down and other requirements that regular mortgage loans request. I can get that money anywhere.

I thought hard money was based solely on the value of the property.

Hi Jpopkin - We lived in Hawaii in 1989 just as the prices started to sky-rocket. They haven't stopped since. We lived in a $500,000 shack LOL in the middle of a pikake flower field. We lived behind Diamond Head in Kaimuki. At that time we tried to purchase a "tear down" at an auction. We thought we'd go as high as $160,000 cash. Well the first bid was $160,000 and ended at $320,000. It was purchased by a Korean National with a suitcase full of cash. We knew when we were beat. LOL

We still look for property over in Hawaii - one day we'll be back. Aloha!